Chicuelo Theme

EctoOne

@bphoover I looked at Recalbox a while back, and I believe it uses a different form for variables. But then you shouldn't have any images since all of them are embedded using the same method (at least that was the case when I provided the initial code for the theme).
Since I was going to rewrite the code on the weekend, maybe I will find the time to install Recalbox again and do some testing myself.

mitu

@bphoover It's not agains the forum rules, but the ES version used by Recalbox is a different fork than the one used by RetroPie, missing certain features (like variables in themes) used by RetroPie themes. Themes might not be compatible between the 2 systems.

EctoOne

I just made a version that offers simple theme settings (everything else I had in mind would have been overkill for this theme).
I added the following options to the main theme.xml:

<!-- Theme Settings -->

	<!-- System Element -->
	<controller>default</controller>
	<!-- Values:
			default: Shows the System controller image
			hide: Hides the System controller image
	-->

	<!-- Gamelist Element: Left Side -->
	<left>default</left>
	<!-- Values:
			default: Shows the System logo
			marquee: Shows the Game logo (only on video view, defaults to System logo on detailed view)
			metadata: Shows Genre, Releasedate, Developer, Players and Rating
	-->

	<!-- Gamelist Element: Right Side -->
	<right>default</right>
	<!-- Values:
			default: Shows the System description
			game: Shows the Game description
	-->

The branch can be found here, I would appreciate if someone could test it before I submit a PR.

Notes:

The latest dev build of EmulationStation is probably required because I use the improved datetime element to display only the year as release date when metadata is enabled (If needed this can be disabled by deleting one line).
This probably won't fix the issues with Recalbox because I didn't change anything in the original code (besides the initial asset path).

rajbhalsod

Hello again. So after much experimentation and adding a number of systems with corresponding artwork, system logos, etc I moved onto making the system menu much smoother by following the advice i earlier received - changing the vram limit etc. I also compressed images to their maximum limit to increase performance but nothing seems to have worked as the sheer volume of art work being used is over whelming the pi!

As this is my go to theme and the one that I simply love in terms of its look, I've been looking at ways to strike a balance between art work and system logos. I therefore have one quick question - when a system logo is not displayed, emulationstation uses a default font. Where can I find this font and how can I hide it from appearing on the system list (as in the default font does not display the system name as defined in the .xml file?) I hope that makes sense! Thanking you all in advance again!

EctoOne

@rajbhalsod I'm not quite sure if I understand correctly but it might be that I forgot to include the code for the system logo text. In fact I just learned about that a while ago. I already had it on my mind though so I will look into it.
I could provide the code snippet later if it is really missing but I'm not home yet.

rajbhalsod

@EctoOne Thank you for the quick response. Sorry if my message didnt make sense, I'm finding it difficult to explain! So essentially, I guess if a system logo, say for example snes, is not in the assets folder, emulationstation displays the name using its own font and uses the name entered in the system.xml file. I would like to hide that from the system carousel menu until I find a way of increasing the menu speed, etc.

Thank you for replying!

EctoOne

@rajbhalsod Ah ok, but that's not possible. The only way to remove an system is by deleting the entry from the es_systems.cfg.
Have you tried deleting images for systems that you don't use? I'm not sure but I believe EmulationStation loads all images including the alternative/region versions. I mean the theme supports around 100 systems (including custom collections) so you probably can remove some images from the _assets/characters/ and _assets/logos/folders.

PlayingKarrde

Haven't had a chance to use it yet but this looks really great! I'll try and put it through it's paces and provide some better feedback but from the screenshots I'm really liking how clean the design is. Amazing job.

rajbhalsod

@EctoOne I did remove a lot of artwork but still hasn’t helped with the menu system. Can the default font be changed?

EctoOne

@rajbhalsod There should be a resource folder somewhere (at least it exists on the windows build) that has font files, if you can find it somehow it might work if you replace the files with a different font with the same name. Since I currently don't have a running Retropie system I can't tell you the location but you can try to search for opensans_hebrew_condensed_light.ttf

movisman

@chicuelo

Hey :) just thought i'd drop by and say hi, as it's been a while since I helped you with a few bits on the theme! I hadn't really been doing anything with RetroPie and my x86 installation for about 6 months or so and got out of the habit of working on it, mainly due to other life commitments - plus also I wanted to start my x86 install afresh but never found the desire to spend the amount of time on it that it needed!!

However, I picked it back up a few weeks ago and have got a really great appliance-like install working on my x86 box, and it works with Dreamcast, Gamecube, etc. Still got a bit to work on but determined to get the project reasonably finished this time.

Anyhow, i'm still using the theme (of course), I might have a small PR which I can send you which makes the 'helpsystem' text a little nicer/more readable, if people choose to use it (i don't). And also an improvement to the carousel system 'sliding' if people leave it enabled (again, I use instant).

Cheers and hope all is well.

chicuelo

@movisman said in Chicuelo Theme:

ight have a small PR which I can send you which makes the 'helpsystem' text a little nicer/more readable, if people choose to use it (i don't). And also an improvement to the carousel system 'sliding' if people leave it enabled (again, I use instant).

I would love to see it, send me the PR!

movisman

@chicuelo

No worries! I will double check how it looks and send it over :)

It is only minor improvement, just makes the help text white and justifies it correctly. Also keeps it in the same place when going to the gamelist view for consistency. It doesn't look too out of place actually, maybe the down arrow is a bit close but with limited space to work with I think it is fine for those who wish to use it. You could potentially improve further by moving the two arrows closer towards the system to make more space, but considering the theme is not designed to have the help enabled, I think it's ok as is. The carousel improvement is just to prevent the system sliding over the console year and type, it now disappears before this and looks better for it.

Will have a look and send over the proposed changes.

Cheers!

chicuelo

@movisman
Great! maybe a lighter gray for the help text. So it does not takes too much attention, I think I used a very dark one to be as quiet as possible

movisman

@chicuelo

Yes good idea, the dark one which is currently there is barely visible on my TV (and monitor), which is why I made it white to match the other elements of the theme.

Let me see if there are any other grey colours used in the theme which I can use instead, i'll post a screenshot here prior to PR so you can see.

Cheers

DarishZone

I also would be interested on carousel edit, specially if can be removed. Have option turned on leads to weird slide effect on logo, but other themes uses that function nicely, so i have to switch off everytime i turn back to chicuelo.

movisman

@DarishZone

I think it can be removed entirely with some edits to the theme.xml file, but would need to have a play around. Depends if @chicuelo would rather keep support in.

The edits I made make the effect better on the logo (it doesn't overlap the other text), it slides out of view before this point now, it actually doesn't look too bad.

I will play with the help text font size and then post up a screengrab or something.

Cheers

DarishZone

If you want to share xml and author agree, i'm more than happy to test!

chicuelo

@DarishZone
Sorry, what do you mean on removing the carousel? can you post an example?

DarishZone

@chicuelo said in Chicuelo Theme:

@DarishZone
Sorry, what do you mean on removing the carousel? can you post an example?

I mean that side sliding effect on system logo when carousel option is activated